Replace wheel with tiller?

[GrowleyMonster]

Personally I would leave it as it is. You already know that works and will continue to work for some time to come. But knock yourself out. Go out in a nice wide bay on a day with fair wind and little traffic, disconnect the wheel steerring cable or chain or whatever, install an emergency tiller, and give it a go.

My one reason why I might favor a tiller for cruising is that tiller steering can be rigged for self steering relative to wind direction, without an autopilot. There are various sheet to tiller systems that work well enough for cruising.

[Jim Cate]

I also stand by my implied statement that the same mechanical advantage provided by a wheel works against you when it comes to sensitivity or "feel" for the rudder. You can't possibly, in reality, dispute this.

Well, in reality, I can indeed dispute that statement! I believe that it is not the mechanical advantage in a wheel system that determines "sensitivity", but rather the frictional losses in the whole shebang: wheel (or tiller) plus rudder.

I've steered tiller boats with lots of friction in the rudder bearings, and they lack "sensitivity" big time. And a good wheel system (like on Insatiable II) is nearly frictionless. To demonstrate, I can (at rest) flick the wheel from dead center, and it will coast the 3/4 turn to full lock on its own. It provides excellent feedback under way.

And for that matter, on many tiller steered boats, the tiller is quite long, which is to provide... mechanical advantage! Does that reduce "sensitivity'? I dunno, but it does increase the distance one must push the tiller through to get a given rudder angle.

So, in the end, there are boats with good and bad steering, and in both camps.

Jim

[Kelkara]

For those of you who still think that a wheel gives more space in the cockpit ... here's mine.

But I hear you say: there's lots of space behind the wheel!

Except I can't reach the winches from behind the wheel, so I sail from infront of the wheel, which gives me exactly 15 inches of cockpit space.

I have tiller envy.

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Well, in reality, I can indeed dispute that statement! I believe that it is not the mechanical advantage in a wheel system that determines "sensitivity", but rather the frictional losses in the whole shebang: wheel (or tiller) plus rudder.

I've steered tiller boats with lots of friction in the rudder bearings, and they lack "sensitivity" big time. And a good wheel system (like on Insatiable II) is nearly frictionless. To demonstrate, I can (at rest) flick the wheel from dead center, and it will coast the 3/4 turn to full lock on its own. It provides excellent feedback under way.

And for that matter, on many tiller steered boats, the tiller is quite long, which is to provide... mechanical advantage! Does that reduce "sensitivity'? I dunno, but it does increase the distance one must push the tiller through to get a given rudder angle.

So, in the end, there are boats with good and bad steering, and in both camps.

Jim

What, did I say mechanical advantage? Silly me, I meant to say frictional losses! What I dunce I am. Yeah, frictional losses! Yuck, it's like stirring pudding with Novocain on your boat driving arm. Blarf!

Anyhell, I know for a fact you have a better, more well attended wheel steering rig on Insatiable 2 than ninety five percent of the boats I've sailed so can understand where you're coming from. Cheers!

[SecondBase]

I have and use both.

My setup is a hydraulic wheel in the pilothouse and a tiller on the transom hung rudder. Single lever Morse engine controls at both steering stations.

Over a few thousand miles pilotage - mostly AICW and coastal - I enjoy and use both locations just about evenly.

Which and when:

busy waterway: wheel

long ICW run: tiller-mounted autopilot using the AP controls inside pilothouse for adjustments.

Coastal: autopilot for sure.

Stormy weather: if I need to adjust a lot - wheel. If a single heading then tiller-autopilot probably to a fault.

Pulling forward alongside a dock it is about 50-50 just grabbing whichever station is convenient.

Forward into a slip: wheel from pilothouse for the clear view.

Backing: I do a lot of backing and the tiller shines there.

One early lesson learned was around switching steering modes. When switching your mode from tiller-autopilot to engaging the hydraulic wheel there is a certain way to do that correctly. We'll go with that. [emoji373][emoji363][emoji374][emoji389][emoji373]

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Kelkara

For those of you who still think that a wheel gives more space in the cockpit ... here's mine.

But I hear you say: there's lots of space behind the wheel!

Except I can't reach the winches from behind the wheel, so I sail from infront of the wheel, which gives me exactly 15 inches of cockpit space.

I have tiller envy.

Yes, that is a bit ridiculous. What is the square thing with a dimple on the floor of the cockpit?

[Kelkara]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Yes, that is a bit ridiculous. What is the square thing with a dimple on the floor of the cockpit?

The wheel was retrofitted in 1978, that square is a hole that was cut in the cockpit floor to provide enough access to the rudder post so that the quadrant could be fitted. The dimple covers a stub of the rudder post that still pokes up into the cockpit so that an emergency tiller can be attached. The emergency tiller has to be tall enough to go over the pedestal, so is ridiculously operated at shoulder height.

One of my plans is to remove the wheel and go back to a tiller as the boat was originally built ... but the wheel still steers fine, and there are other jobs higher on the priority list.

[Cyrus Safdari]

Wheel-to-tiller conversion of a Pearson 35
Sailing Whimsy: Wheel-to-tiller conversion


The Pearson 35 is known for its weird binnacle position, way forward and blocking access to companionway.